


The Future is Closer than You Think

by laxit21



Series: Alias: Felicity Smoak [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Felicity Smoak, Canon-Typical Violence, League of Assassins - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-04-30 11:09:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14495640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21
Summary: Felicity defeated her old enemies and put some of her past behind her. She left Starling City and her team behind to fulfill a destiny she neither embraced nor rejected. As Team Arrow moves on without her, she forges a new path. She never thought she’d enter the city again. Fate had other plans.Sequel to 'The Past Doesn't Stay Buried'





	1. Chapter 1

**Several Months Ago-League Hideout**

“Felicity is Heir to the Demon?” Sara asked.

“Yes. The League has stayed in this city for the last few weeks while she concluded her outstanding business. With the ARGUS director dead, alongside the Project Nike soldiers, her business is concluded. I suspect we will leave tonight.” Nyssa answered. “It would also be rather stupid of you to inform Oliver Queen of this matter.”

“Felicity killed Amanda Waller?”

“Yes. Does that surprise you? The woman spent a decade hunting her, and Al Shabh knew their game of cat and mouse would only end one way.” Nyssa responded. “In either case, move past any resentment you feel towards her as soon as possible. It will do you no favors.”

* * *

 S **tarling City-Next Evening**

Felicity punched Oliver in the face. He staggered back. She hit him again, he fell onto his knees. She then kneed him in the face, knocking him out. Then, she turned to Roy.

“When he wakes up, tell him I’m gone. And I said not to look for me.”

“Does that include me? Because I think I deserve a better goodbye than that.” Roy asked. he might’ve been used to people leaving, but that didn’t make it any easier.

“This isn’t goodbye, Roy. It’s more like ‘I’ll talk to you later’. Don’t know when or how often, but I’m gonna try.” She said hugging him.

“Any chance I can come with you?”

“No. You’ve got a life here. And Thea wouldn’t like it if I absconded with her boyfriend. Besides, someone’s gotta keep an eye on Oliver.” The blonde then handed him something. “Only use this if it’s an emergency.” She pulled away, leaving him holding a business card with a number written on it. “Promise me you won’t give it to them.”

“Promise. I’m gonna miss you Blondie.”

“I’ll miss you too, Scarecrow. Tell Thea I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye in person.” With that, Felicity turned and left the foundry.

Oliver stirred awake minutes later. “What- where- Felicity, where is she?” he asked Roy.

“Gone. You fought, you shot her so she knocked you out and left. She told me to tell you not to go looking for her either.”

“You just let her leave?”

“She wanted to go, and I respected her choice.” Roy answered.

“John?”

“Nursing a broken hand and a little banged up, but overall fine.” The younger man answered. “That was stupid of both of you.”

“We couldn’t just let her leave.” Oliver insisted.

“Why not? You didn’t exactly give her a reason to stay.”

“We’re a team.”

“A team that doesn’t have her back. It’s not much of a reason to stay.” He scoffed.

“Something you want to say?”

“Yeah. She didn’t leave because of Sam or Waller or any other thing you can think of. She left because of you two. It was like she was your friend one day and your reluctant acquaintance next. Did you know you didn’t once ask her how she felt about Waller and the Russians being after her? Neither did John or Sara. The Russians took her family from her. They took her friends from her and they took her childhood from her. If that doesn’t dredge up bad memories, I don’t know what does. She had to go through that basically alone. Sure, Sam and I tried to be there, but I didn’t live it and he has his own demons. She could’ve used better friends at a time like that.”

“If we’re such a bad team, if we’re such bad friends, why didn’t you go with her?”

“Because unlike her, I’ve got something worth staying for. I’m pissed at you two but I won’t do that to Thea.”

* * *

 

**Diggle Apartment**

After Oliver reset and wrapped Digg’s arm, John went home. he expected Lyla and Sara to both be asleep when he arrived, so he jumped about six feet in the air when a light turned on and Lyla spoke.

“Amanda Waller is dead. I’m sure that isn’t a shock to you.” John didn’t respond, which gave Lyla the answer she wanted. “What happened?”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“You could start with why you’ve got a broken hand.”

“That’s not gonna make sense until after I explain everything else.” He sighed. “Felicity, she broke my hand.”

“Felicity Smoak? Blonde hair, about yea high. She broke your hand?”

“There’s a lot we didn’t know about Felicity.” He responded, before launching into the story. He stuck to the basics, but there was still a lot he had to explain. When he was finished telling the story, he didn’t know if Lyla wanted to kill him or hug him.

“So that’s why our source sent me home.” Lyla remarked.

“She grew up without a mother, said she didn’t want anyone to go through that because of her. When Roy asked, she also said you were the only person who said they should just drop the case.”

“When were you going to tell me all of this?” she asked. He didn’t respond, which was an answer itself. “You weren’t going to tell me.”

“No. She- we didn’t know this about her, but she was still Felicity. After all the secrets she kept for us, the team kinda owed her. She wanted to handle the situation for herself, which she clearly did. Now, she’s gone. Oliver and I tried to stop her from leaving, and this happened.” Digg held up his broken hand. “She said that by now, there’d be no proof Felicity Smoak ever existed. I know ARGUS will still try to solve the case.”

“Maybe some cases are meant to go cold.” Lyla said. “She probably guessed you’d tell me eventually, so she knows we might keep looking for her. She’s not stupid, we won’t be able to find her even though I know what she looks like. Maybe it’s time for ARGUS to move on. She told me at the beginning, when I first told her about the case, that she wanted to be left alone. I plan to do that.”

“Really?”

“I leave her alone, she lives her life. I go after her, more people could die. She went dark for years, its not much of a risk.”

* * *

 

**Starling General**

“I’m awake and I’m fine.” Laurel argued. “I’m an attorney for the DA’s office and I demand you let me go!”

“That’s not going to happen.” The doctor told her. “The behavior you demonstrated, even after the drugs left you system, was concerning to say the least. A psychologist observed you over the last few days. You’ve been committed.”

“I’m not crazy!” This was all Felicity’s fault.

* * *

 

**Starling City Port**

“Are you sure about this?” Felicity asked Sam.

“Yes.” It was odd how he could put so much conviction into a three-letter word.

“Well then. What are we waiting for?” Felicity said as she walked towards the ship.

“I trust you both understand this is not a decision you can change later on.” Ra’s said once they were on the ship and they’d cast off.

“We know.” Felicity told him. “I turned down your offer years ago because I still had work to do. I’m finally done.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch up with Felicity in the present, and we see how Starling has fared without her.

**Nanda Parbat-Present**

A figure stood in the middle of a group of assassins with swords. A voice from above simply said ‘begin’ and they attacked. One by one, each assassin fell to their unarmed opponent. The observer was impressed. Al Shabh hadn’t had much sword training before becoming Heir to the Demon, yet she showed a clear affinity for it. Soon, it was Al Shabh against the one remaining assassin. This particular bout lasted much longer than the others, but soon, she had her opponent on their knees.

“Hold.” Ra’s said, having seen enough.

 Felicity dropped the sword in her hand, one she’d taken from a fallen opponent, and turned to face him. Her opponent got up from the ground, removed their hood and turned to face him as well. Felicity was only slightly surprised to see that she’d been fighting Sam.

“Al Namur, you may go.” He told Sam. The man bowed and left. “You’ve shown great improvement in these last months, Al Shabh.”

“I didn’t make this decision lightly. I had no intention of treating my training lightly.” She answered.

“And I expected nothing less.” Ra’s said. “Come, there is something you must see.”

“What is it?” She asked as she followed him.

“A place now home only for the dead.”

 

About an hour later, they found themselves at a group of ruins. “Many years ago, I pledged myself to the League alongside another man, known as Damian Darhk. We were the horsemen of Ra’s al Ghul, and he molded us into warriors the likes of which the world had never seen.”

“What happened to him?”

“He believed he was worthy to become Ra’s al Ghul. When I was chosen, he left Nanda Parbat along with his loyalists and water from the Lazarus Pits. He began growing his own organization, HIVE. You met some of his acolytes in Tokyo, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes, I have.” She answered.

“I was instructed to kill him years ago, I hesitated. My hesitation allowed his escape and he vexed me for years. Until Tokyo, that is. With your assistance, we dealt a blow to HIVE they were unable to recover from. They have limped on ever since.”

“May I ask why you’re telling me this?”

“You, and a handful of others, are being sent to kill him. Do not hesitate as I did.” Ra’s told her.

* * *

 

**Starling City**

The last few months had been odd for Starling. There hadn’t been any earthquakes or terrorist attacks or top-secret government manhunts, but everyone could feel like something had changed. The Arrow was still around, stopping crime as much as he could. He just, for some unknown reason, wasn’t doing as well at it as he once was. Attacks and major crimes were down, but petty crime wasn’t.

“What the hell happened?” Oliver yelled as he reentered the Foundry.

“You were fighting a bunch of thugs, and you let them get away.” Roy answered.

“They wouldn’t have gotten away if you’d done your job.”

“I know you’re a little slow, but this is Felicity’s job. It was always Felicity’s job. You don’t want to admit it, but we’re falling apart without her.”

“We’re doing fine.”

“No. We aren’t. You keep running in blind and half-cocked. We needed her a lot more than she needed us.”

“She left.”

“She didn’t say she wouldn’t be back.”

“She won’t be.”

_She might if I tell her we really need her back._

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“How does it feel?” One of the assassins asked.

“How does what feel?” Al Shabh responded.

“To have succeeded where the Demon Head failed?”

“That is a foolish thing to ask and an incredibly stupid thing to imply.” She turned on the man and said. “I don’t know if the man I killed is Damian Darhk. Only Ra’s al Ghul knows if this man is the one who’s evaded us for so long.” She gestured to the basket carrying a decapitated head. “And if he’d heard what you just asked, you’d be dead where you stood.”

“There is no ‘if’ necessary.” A voice said from behind them. Before the assassin could blink, Ra’s had stabbed him through the chest. “You should know by now, I see, hear and know everything.” The others scattered as soon as he pulled the sword out. “Open the basket.” She did as she was told and Ra’s looked into the container. “Fascinating, isn’t it? How one’s enemy seems so….small once they’ve fallen. Many believed Damian Darhk  to be unkillable, and yet, here he sits. Part of him anyway.”

“It’s curious to think about.” Felicity responded, because she felt like she had to say something.

“It is.” He then turned to face her. “You’ll find Al Namur sparring with some of the newer recruits. I imagine you wish to see him.”

Felicity soon found herself in one of the training room. As soon as she entered, all of the new assassins bowed and left. She still hadn’t gotten used to everyone bowing her. She did finally stop looking behind her every time they did it.

“My swordplay is a little rusty. Help me out a little?” she said to Sam.

“Your swordplay is rusty. That’s the excuse you’re going with.” Sam asked her.

“Fine. I’m Heir to the Demon and as Heir to the Demon, I order you to spar with me. Better?” she asked as she removed all her other weapons.

“Well, I love it when you’re bossy and I love it even more when you’re honest.” He said as he went over and grabbed a sword for himself. “How’d the mission go?”

“According to Ra’s, I killed Damian Darhk. I also found out how much decapitated heads smell. The Demon Head got weirdly philosophical when I gave him proof of his 'old friend’s' death. Oh, and one of the assassins with me was an idiot.” She explained as she got into a fighting stance and the pair began to duel.

“How?”

“He flat out said Ra’s was incapable of doing it himself. That didn’t go over well. How was training?”

“Fine. I already know three of them aren’t gonna make it to the end.”

“A sad but unfortunate truth of this life.” She said, as she knocked the sword out of his hand. “I win.”

“Yes, you did.” He said smirking, before flipping them over. “I don’t suppose you want to celebrate?”

“The Demon Head requests your presence.” Someone came in and said.

Felicity shot Sam an ‘I’m sorry’ look before getting up. “I’ll find you later.” She returned the rest of her weapons to their hiding spots and prepared to go.

“He requested your presence as well, Al Namur.” The assassin said.

“Oh.” Sam met Felicity’s eyes, who was just as confused. “Give me a moment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a flashback, and find out a little more about Ana's childhood (and how it ended)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't the chapter I was gonna write, but then I got writer's block and had a tough week, so this was the result. I also realized the only thing about Ana's parents I revealed was that they were dead. Let's find out how that happened.
> 
> This is not a nice chapter. Bad stuff happens.

**Russia-1996**

Anastasia had gone back to her room from classes that day when there was a knock on the door. She pondered what to do for a moment before walking over and opening the door. On the other side was a woman she hadn’t seen in months. Natasha Rostova, her mother.

When Ana and the others were born, they rarely saw their mothers. The guards and doctors didn’t want the children becoming too attached to them, so they were allowed one or two visits a year, maximum, for the first five years. Once the chance of forming an attachment dropped off, they were allowed visits every few months. The mothers stayed on base, the program director couldn’t risk them going to the police about being kidnapped, but none of the kids knew where.

“Mother? What are you-?”

“Come with me.” Natasha said, grabbing her arm. “We need to go.” She walked them briskly down the hallway.

“Where? The director, he didn’t- they would’ve told me-.”

“It’s not coming from the director.” She said, and Ana gave her a confused look. “That’s not important right now.”

A guard approached and Natasha pushed Ana into a doorway and stood blocking his view. When he passed, she grabbed her daughter’s arm again and continued walking.  They got to a corridor and Ana froze.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“There isn’t time for that. We need to go. We need to get out of here. I need to get you out of here.” Natasha said.

“But what about the others? Sam, Nadia, Timmy?” the girl asked.

“They aren’t my concern.” Natasha was panicking. She needed to get Anastasia out of the program’s hands now.

“They’re my friends. This is my home. I can’t just leave.”

“This isn’t a home, it’s a prison. And if we don’t leave, we’re both going to die here.” Natasha said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes that led me here. You shouldn’t have to pay for them.”

Ana didn’t speak, so Natasha kept pulling her through the building. They ran into a few more guards, but no one tried to stop them. Finally, they reached the main entrance. Natasha opened the door to find the director and most of the guards outside waiting.

“Did you really think it would be that simple?”

“I’m not gonna let you do this to her.” Natasha told him. She pulled something out of her jacket. “Even if it means I have to kill her.” Ana turned and saw a gun pointed at her head.

“Mother?”

“Let us leave or she dies.”

“You won’t do it. This whole escape attempt was about saving her. Killing her would do the opposite, wouldn’t it? And you’ve been letting us ‘do this to her’ since the day she was born.”

“She’s a child. You want to turn her into a weapon. I haven’t been the best mother up until now, you made sure of that, but I can’t let you do this.”

“Natasha, enough posturing. We both know you don’t have what it takes to kill her, so here we are. You can try and fight your way out, and you’ll lose because it’s one against about thirty. Or you can surrender, and things can go back to normal.”

“Make that five against thirty.” Someone said from nearby. A few people turned and saw four men standing there.

“Colonel Kuznetsov, what brings you here?” the director asked the man who spoke.

“When Mikhailov died, I thought it was a coincidence. Then, Federov was hit by that bus. And that’s a little too coincidental for me. Too bad Yasha told us what he worked out before you killed him. Where are they?”

“So, you’re here for your children. For your daughter. You had a girl, by the way. I won’t burden you with too many details. You’ll be dead before you can even get through the door.”

The man didn’t reply, simply cocked his weapon. “There’s a reason you used my team’s DNA.”

“And a reason that's all we wanted.” the director replied. “Shoot them.” he told the guards. Gunshots rang out. When they stopped, four guards, and Kuznetsov and his men were dead on the ground. The director turned to Ana. “Anastasia, meet your father.”

Ana didn’t know how she was supposed to react. She had some connection to her mother, it was small but it was there. Her father was another matter entirely. She’d always wondered about her father. She never thought she’d meet him, let alone watch him die.

“Sir, I suggest we take this inside.”

“Cut the dramatics, Natasha. Your opportunity is passed.”

Both Rostovas were led inside. One of the guards walked Ana back to her room. Others made sure to double check Natasha for weapons. Once back in her room, Ana began wondering if what her mother said was real. Was the compound a prison? Was she going to die there?

Those questions plagued her for days. Three days after her attempted escape, Ana was brought into a room she’d never seen before. Her mother and the director were already inside. When she entered, her mother’s eyes snapped to the man.

“Don’t do this.”

“I have to. She needs to learn sometime.” He said rationally.

“She doesn’t need to learn it now.”

“If not now, when?” he asked.

“Please. Please, don’t do this.”

He ignored her and turned to Ana. He pointed to a mirror behind her. “Do you know what this is?”

“A two-way mirror. Someone in that room can see what happens in here.”

“Very good. Your mother is going to help with a demonstration, and we’re going to watch from in there. Sound good?”

Ana eyed him warily but nodded. There hadn’t been any consequences at all for her attempted escape, and that made her uneasy. As she was led from the room, her mother kept yelling at Petrov ‘don’t do this’.

“A few days ago, something happened that shouldn’t have been allowed to happen. Your mother tried to take you from us. And you almost let her. I fear you’ve become too attached to her. I can’t allow that.” He said in a monotone voice.

By this point, several men had entered the room and started hitting her mother. “What are you going to do?” she asked fearfully.

“You love your mother and she loves you. We tried to prevent it, unsuccessfully. Love is for children, and it’s time we teach you that.” He said in a bored tone. She could hear her mother’s cries of pain and tried to look away. He gripped her chin and forced her head forward. “No. You will watch this. All of it.”

They beat her. They cut and stabbed her. They burned her. The whole affair took over an hour, and Ana had to watch the whole thing. Natasha had screamed, she had cried, but it wasn’t until the guards left and one of Ana’s instructors entered the room that she tried to say anything.

“Ana, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I am so, so sorry. I lov-“

Ana never got hear the words, because Natasha Rostova died before she could finish. Sergeant Vasile shot her in the head.

“See?” the director said as he turned to Ana, who was too in shock to even look at him. “This is what love gets you.” She cried after she got back to her room.

Over the next few days, the guards killed the remaining mothers. The staff weren’t willing to risk the same thing happening again. Years later, the day Ana left for good, she found both her parents’ files. They were buried in shallow graves next to each other. She found it oddly fitting. One day, she’d exhume their bodies and give them a better resting place.

Unlike Ana, the other kids hadn’t had to watch their mothers die. A part of her died that day. She became much more cold and calculating. This led to her becoming the director’s star pupil. Some staff resigned in the following months because of her change in demeanor. Some claimed they ‘hadn’t signed up for orphaning children’, others outright admitted a fear of retribution from her. Ana eventually hunted them down regardless.

In Mombasa, years later, Ana finally got her revenge. She snuck into Petrov's hideout and waited. He was awoken in the middle of the night when she threw a bucket of cold water onto him, just like the guards used to do to her. He sat up, blinked and saw the gun pointed at him.

"You and I have unfinished business." Ana said.

"I would say so. The guards?"

"Dead. I'm good at this, you made sure of that."

"And this is how you repay us?"

"It's what all of you deserve." Ana shrugged. "I won't lose sleep over it."

"Just answer one question before you blow my brains out."

"Oh, you don't get to die that easily or that quickly."

"Still, the question remains. We're hunting you. We won't stop hunting you, even if I die. This only ends one way. Why go to all this trouble?"

"You killed my mother." She answered before aiming at his left knee. She took the shot. She didn't torture him, for obvious reasons. Instead, she kept shooting him in different places until he bled out. Then, she left him there to rot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said it wasn't a nice chapter.
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Sam get a mission, Sara has something to say, and Team Arrow gets a surprise.

**Nanda Parbat**

“You wanted to see us.” Felicity said as she entered the room where Ra’s was waiting. It was similar to a throne room. The League typically used it for ceremonies or trials. Ra’s liked that it seemed to intimidate people. It did look fairly archaic and ominous, Felicity was willing to admit.

“Both of you are going on a mission.” Ra’s said. “Al Shabh because she is Heir to the Demon and Al Namur because I wish to see how well you two operate in the field together.”

“What is the mission and where are we going?”

“Back to Starling City.” Ra’s answered. “Another adversary of the League has been spotted there. And I believe others will soon start looking for both of you.”

Ra’s hadn’t heard anything indicating that ‘Team Arrow’ was looking for Felicity, but based on what he did know about Oliver Queen, it was only a matter of time. He didn’t stand a chance of finding her, but looking in the first place could cause unnecessary drama for everyone involved. Especially since, according to Sara, there was a lot of things neither Felicity nor Oliver got a chance to say to one another before she left. If they briefly reunited, they could finally have closure. The sooner that happened, the better for everyone.

“May I speak with you in private for a moment?” Felicity asked Ra’s politely. Something about this situation didn’t feel right. He nodded and dismissed the others, including Sam.

“What exactly is this about?”

“Those three mercenaries in Corto Maltese, Damien Darhk, this adversary in Starling. Is there something I should know?” All of the targets she'd been sent after for the last few months were enemies of the League in one way or another, and most of them had somehow escaped Ra's killing them himself. 

“Ah, I occasionally forget how new to our ways you truly are. I’m merely adhering to tradition. The mantle of Ra’s al Ghul cannot be passed onto you until all of my ‘unfinished business’ is concluded. The intention is for the new Demon Head’s reign to begin with a clean slate. And for their predecessor’s legacy to not be tarnished by failing to fulfill their purpose.” Ra’s explained. “I felt doing so in stages was the most prudent method.”

“And Al Namur?”

“He joined the League to remain by your side. And I am not blind to what his intentions are. If he wishes to wed the Demon Head, he first needs to prove himself worthy of doing so. He has done well so far, this is just the latest test he must pass.”

Felicity didn’t know how to respond to that. Eventually, she and Ra’s began discussing logistics and he dismissed her. She left his throne room and nearly ran into Nyssa.

“How have you been?” the blonde asked.

“Very well. And yourself?”

“I’ve been well too. I take it your assignment was successful?”

“It was.”

The conversation died off after that. Things between Felicity and Nyssa had been awkward for the last few months to say the least. The brunette wasn’t exactly happy about no longer being Heir to the Demon but she also didn’t really resent Felicity for it either. Sam had asked Nyssa about it at one point and her response was that if she’d been replaced by someone other than Felicity, she would’ve challenged the new Heir to a duel for the title.

“Taer al Safer was looking for you earlier.” Nyssa said before she turned to walk away. “I told her I would pass the message along.”

“Where can I find her?”

“Either the library or the training rooms, I suspect.”

Felicity strode into one of the training rooms just in time to see Sara land a particularly brutal kick to another assassins ribs. Everyone in the room froze when she entered. She’d gotten used to that by now. She asked to speak to Sara outside and told everyone to return to their training.

“Nyssa said you were looking for me.”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize until yesterday, but we never really talked about what happened between you and Laurel.”

“If you’re looking for an apology, you aren’t getting one. I gave both of you plenty of chances to drop it and walk away, you didn’t.”

“I’m not looking for one. I actually owe you one because you were right. Laurel’s an adult and it wasn’t my fight. Didn’t get a chance to tell you that until now.”

“Are you saying this because it’s true or because I’m the next Demon Head?” Felicity knew Sara wasn’t stupid. No one in Nanda Parbat, including Sara, wanted her as an enemy. The blonde wanted to know if this apology was genuine or not.

“Because it’s true. Because you saved my life. And because I miss my friend.” Sara admitted.

* * *

 

**Starling City-A few days later**

Roy, Digg and Oliver were training in the Arrowcave when suddenly a loud, blaring alarm began to go off. All three men covered their ears until Oliver finally found the right button to turn it off.

“What the hell was that?” Roy asked.

“Someone tripped the alarm at Felicity’s house.” Oliver explained.

“There’s an alarm in Felicity’s house, even though she’s been gone for months?” he asked.

“Yeah, since Barry’s visit.” The archer replied.

Barry had woken up from his coma a week after Felicity left Starling. After discovering his abilities, he ran to Starling for Oliver’s advice. When he mentioned going to see Felicity, the truth, or a little of it, came out. All Oliver told him was that she’d made herself disappear. Between the two of them, it didn’t take long to have alarms and surveillance set up around the blonde’s house.

“So, someone broke in.” Digg said. “Do we know who?”

“Just a second.” Oliver said as he continued typing commands into the computer. He was okay with computers but he wasn’t Felicity.

 The feed finally loaded. All of the cameras were working, but nothing noteworthy could be seen. Oliver rewound the tape and stopped when someone appeared on the screen. The archer clenched his jaw when he saw who it was. Sam stood in the middle of Felicity’s living room, looked directly at the camera and waved. Then, he walked out of the building.

"Do you think he knows?" Digg asked. "He left right before she did."

After killing Amanda Waller, no one on Team Arrow had seen Sam again. They all knew he was leaving, but at the time they didn't care where he was going. Sara had mentioned seeing Sam packing to leave when she stopped by the foundry after Oliver and Felicity's fight. ARGUS tried to track him, so they'd have an eye on somebody, but that failed quickly. The team was undecided about whether he'd gone with Felicity or not.

"He has to at least suspect something. Why else would he show up now? He's probably tried to find her, and hit a dead end. And four minds are better than one."  Roy said.

"Or he found her and wants to rub it in our faces." Oliver grumbled.

He stormed out of the foundry wanting to punch something. Digg followed after him to stop him from doing something stupid. Roy stayed behind. Someone needed to run the comms and he didn’t particularly want to go out on patrol.

“Finally. I thought he’d never leave.” A voice said from the shadows. “Hey, Scarecrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Digg go looking for answers, Roy gets some answers and Felicity gets a lead.

**Felicity’s House**

Digg and Oliver stood outside of Felicity’s house. Expectedly, the lights were all off and it didn’t look like anyone lived there. Surprisingly, though, it didn’t look abandoned like Digg thought it might. Someone had clearly been looking after the property, and he wondered who.

“Why did we come here? I doubt Sam would’ve stuck around.” He asked as they went into the building.

“If we’re gonna find him, the best place is the last place he was seen.”

“If it were you or me, that makes sense. But the man’s a superspy, he’s got the same training as Felicity. We’re not gonna find him unless he wants us to.” Digg argued.

“It’s a good thing I wanted you to find me then.” Sam said from the doorway. “Good evening. You look well.”

“I don’t have time for this. Why’d you break into Felicity’s house?”

“How can I break in if I already have a key?” Sam asked Oliver.

“She left, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that. Still, you want to know, where did she go?”

“Do you know where she is?” Digg asked.

“I know where she’s not, and she’s not here. I know where she was but I don’t know where she’ll be.” He answered.

“Stop answering questions with questions. Have you seen her?” Oliver asked.

“Yes, today in fact.” Sam answered. “She’s the one who asked me to come here.”

“You saw her? Is she okay?”

“Why’d she send you here?”

“So that I could set off whatever security system or surveillance you set up after she left. You’d look at the tape and come running. With you here, she can get into the foundry and find what she needs. Unhindered.”

Oliver and Digg both turned and practically sprinted out of the building.

“Don’t bother.” Sam called after them. “She’ll be gone by the time you get there.”

* * *

 

**Foundry**

“Finally. I thought he’d never leave.” A voice said from the shadows. “Hey, Scarecrow.”

“Blondie?” Roy said in disbelief. A figure stepped out of the shadows. “Well, not quite as blonde anymore.” He amended.

A month after leaving Starling, Felicity dyed her hair again. She stayed blonde, but she went a few shades darker than normal.

“Yeah, kinda needed a change.” She admitted.

“What are you doing here? Where’d you disappear to? Did Sam-?”

“When I left, Sam came with me. I had to- well, let’s just say Waller and the Russians weren’t the only thing on my plate before I left. The other stuff wasn’t gonna go away as easily, either. So, I dealt with the ‘easy stuff’ while procrastinating about the hard stuff.” She said. “I’m here because that hard stuff brought me back.”

“What could be harder to deal with than Waller and ARGUS?” Roy wondered out loud.

“Plenty of things. I need to borrow this computer for a few minutes.” She told him as she walked past him to the console. “It’s a matter of time before Oliver realizes Sam was a distraction and high-tails it back here. Don’t wanna be here when that happens.”

“Why not? I know you were pissed but it’s been months.”

“One, I’m still a little pissed. Two, because he’s gonna have questions like ‘where have I been’ and ‘what have I been doing’. He’s not gonna like my answers. Then he’s gonna wanna know what brought me back and get pissed about that. I just got off of an 18-hour flight and I’m not in the mood for that.”

She stopped typing and stared at the screen. After a few seconds, she looked back at Roy. “I got what I need, I’ll see you later.”

Rostam Sobol wasn't quite as off the grid as the League was, and while he wasn't flaunting his existence online, Felicity was very good at tracking people down. Three minutes looking into him told the blonde all she needed to know about why he was an enemy of the League and why Ra's wanted him gone. With any luck, he'd be taken care of before Team Arrow even knew a man like that was in Starling City.

“What do you mean ‘see me later’?” Roy had gotten the impression that Felicity was about to disappear again and was being flippant about it. “You took an 18-hour flight to Google something and leave?”

“I’m gonna be here for at least a few more days.” Felicity answered. “My business wasn’t just running some searches. Now, I gotta go before Oliver and Digg get back.” She turned and walked back into the shadows she’d stepped out of.

Two minutes later, Oliver and John came running down the stairs. “Where is she?” the archer practically yelled at Roy.

“Gone. She was here, she left.”

“What did she want?”

“She didn’t say. Just snuck in, said hi, ran a search or two, and bounced.” He shrugged. “Pretty sure she waited for you to leave before letting me know she was there.”

Oliver strode over to the console and tried to figure out what she searched.

“She’s a computer genius, man. Unless she wanted you to find it, you aren’t gonna figure out what she looked for.” Digg told him. “How was she?”

“She seemed fine. She changed her hair.” Roy said. “I wasn’t able to get much information out of her, but she seems happy. Maybe not happy, but she isn’t miserable.”

“Is that all she said?” Oliver said.

“She said that. She said work brought her back here, but she didn’t say and I didn’t ask. Also, she told me she wasn’t leaving right away.”

“She’s not?” They both asked.

“No, this set up might be impressive, but it doesn’t warrant taking an 18-hour flight to use.” He scoffed.

“Ok, but where did she go in the first place? What work is she doing?”

“She didn’t answer that. She waited for you to be gone because she didn’t want to answer those questions. She knew you wouldn’t like the answers anyway.”

“Because I knew he would react like this.” Felicity’s voice called out. Everyone turned to try and figure out where it was coming from. “It’s coming from the computer. I made a little change to the set-up while I was working.”

“Why come back?” Oliver asked.

“I needed to. That’s all I’m gonna tell you.” She said. Oliver could hear the satisfaction in her voice. "See you around, maybe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> P.S. I made up a name for Felicity's target, he's not an existing DC character.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The League has a plan. Oliver has a plan. Those two plans might collide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An actual chapter?

**League Hideout**

“Did you find what you needed, Al Shabh?” One of the assassins asked.

“Some of it. I now know what type of business he is involved in and how he usually goes about carrying out such business. I was also able to buy some time to work before the vigilantes of Starling notice our arrival.”

“By exposing your own arrival.” Another pointed out.

“Yes, because as long as Oliver Queen is focused on finding me, he’s less likely to notice or recognize the work of the League so quickly.”

“Now that Sobol has been located, what’s our next move?” Sam asked.

“We observe his known associates, gather information. This will lead us to his location. If that doesn’t work in a reasonable time, we start killing his associates.” She answered. “He’s nowhere near as cunning or resourceful as Damian Darhk or Malcolm Merlyn. When he realizes he’s being targeted, he’ll lash out and reveal himself.”

* * *

 

**Arrow Cave**

Two days later, the remnants of Team Arrow were down in the foundry training when an alert went off on one of the computers.

“Looks like there’s some shady stuff going down at the docks. Bunch of dudes with guns waiting to start something with other dudes with guns.” Roy said.

“Triad?”

“Doesn’t look like it.” Roy answered. “Unless the Triad decided to switch from Mandarin to…something that sounds like Russian.”

“Let’s go break up the party, then.” Digg said as he grabbed his guns. “You got the comms, right?”

“Yeah. Not like I’m the one who always gets stuck on them.” Roy muttered after Digg and Oliver left.

* * *

 

**Starling City Docks**

Oliver and Digg arrived at the docks only to find their targets were already fighting. Two figures, dressed all in black, were engaging them in a fight, and winning. Some of the moves looked somewhat familiar to Oliver, but he couldn’t place them. He didn’t think he’d fought these two before, but he had fought someone taught in a similar style.

Oliver and Digg took down a few of the stragglers while the mysterious pair continued to deal with most of their armed adversaries. After a few moments, the only ones standing were Oliver, Digg and the two masked fighters.

“Who are you?” Oliver asked them, preparing for a fight.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” A male synthesized voice responded.

“Why are you here?”

“It’s business related. As in, not yours.”

“You can tell us, or we can do this the hard way.”

The other figure started laughing. “That didn’t work out for you so well last time.” A female voice said.

“What are you-?”

The person who’d just spoken took off her mask. “Hello, Oliver. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Felicity.”

“Yup, or I guess, kinda. That’s not really my name, so….I needed to talk to them. They didn’t want to talk to me, so we fought. End of explanation.” She didn’t really need to talk to those men. They didn’t work for Sobol, and couldn’t lead her to him. She did, however, need to run into Oliver. He’d gotten a little too close to discovering what she was up to, by sheer accident, and it was time for a little damage control.

“What business do you have with them?”

“Don’t worry about it.” She turned to her companion. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, I-.” Felicity was gone before he could say much else.

* * *

 

**Arrow Cave**

Dejected, Oliver and Digg went back to the foundry. Roy and Thea were both there. They’d heard everything that happened over the comms and had a million questions.

“Did she say anything else? What about the other guy?”

“Did she look like she was okay? Why didn’t you tell me she’d come back?”

“You heard everything she said, and it wasn’t much. I don’t have any answers for you.”

“Wait, she didn’t tell you?” A voice said from behind them.

“Sara, what are you doing here?”

“She didn’t tell you where she was going when she left last year?”

“No, she didn’t. What don’t we know?”

“She went to Nanda Parbat, Ollie.”

“Felicity joined the League.”

“No.” Sara said, and everyone sighed in relief. “She’s helping lead it. She’s Ra’s al Ghul’s successor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> P.S. I'm sorry this chapter is a little short.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of talking happens, and not much else. And Sara has crossed a line.

**Foundry**

“She went to Nanda Parbat, Ollie.”

“Felicity joined the League.”

“No.” Sara said, and everyone sighed in relief. “She’s helping lead it. She’s Ra’s al Ghul’s successor.”

The foundry went dead silent for nearly a minute.

“Wait. Say that again.” Digg said. “Because it sounded like you said-.”

“Nope, you heard it correctly.” Sara said, wanting to rip the bandaid off. “She’s the next leader.”

“She joined the League? After everything that happened last year, all that talk about burying her past, she joined the League?!” Oliver asked, exasperated.

“Did I not just say that?” Sara turned to Thea and said. The brunette nodded.

“Why would she do that?”

“Because you pushed her away.” Roy said. “We weren’t the best team or friends when all that stuff went down last year. She didn’t have to leave, but you made her feel like she did.”

“There’s a big difference between leaving town and joining the League of Assassins, Roy.”

“The Demon Head tried to recruit her in the past,” Sara began, “she kept turning down the offer. At first, because her business with Project Nike wasn’t done. Then, she said she wanted to be normal for a little while. When he made one last offer, she might’ve thought it was the only option left.” Sara didn’t mention the ‘survive my sword’ prophecy. To her, it seemed like fulfilling the prophecy was only an added incentive for Felicity to head to Nanda Parbat.

“You’re on the right track, but you’re ignoring the most important thing.” Sam said as he stepped out of the shadows.

“Does this place not have any security or something?” Thea asked.

“What does that mean?”

“You wanted Felicity, but not Ana. ARGUS, the Russians, plenty of others, they wanted Ana but not Felicity. The League of Assassins, well, they wanted, and accepted, both of them. You don’t get one without the other. For a long time, I was the only one who understood that.” Sam said. “Yes, being an assassin feels familiar and old habits die hard, but more than anything else, she’s sick of not being accepted for who and what she is.”

“Is that what she said?” Oliver asked.

“She didn’t need to.” Sam responded before walking away.

“She said she was here for work. Is that why you’re here?” Roy asked Sara after he came to a realization. “If she’s with the League and she’s here, does that mean-.”

“No.” Sara said. “They knew it was a matter of time before you tried to find her. Now, you don’t have to. You know why she left and you kinda know where she went. Mystery solved.” The blonde shrugged. “Maybe it’s time to let her go.” She was mainly talking to Oliver and Digg.

“No, I’m not doing that. I refuse to do that.” Oliver said. “She’s in Starling, so until she leaves, we haven’t missed the chance to reach her. She’s a good person. We’ll get her back.”

“How are you gonna reach her when she doesn’t wanna be in the same room as you?” Thea asked. Oliver didn’t have an answer for that.  

* * *

 

**League Hideout**

“So, now they all know.” Sam said as he finished recounting what happened in the foundry.

“What exactly did she tell them?”

“All she said was that when you left, you went to Nanda Parbat and that you’re now Heir to the Demon, except she didn’t use that title. Just said you’re Ra’s al Ghul’s successor.”

“So she didn’t say anything about the prophecy or you or why we came back to Starling.”

“As far as I know, she didn’t.” Sam explained. “She knew, or guessed, I’d followed her there. I can’t guarantee she didn’t just wait for me to leave to tell them.”

“Let’s find out, shall we?” Felicity said as she turned and started messing around with her computer. A few moments later, a security feed of the foundry was on the screen.

They watched as Sam left and Roy began to speak. “She said she was here for work. Is that why you’re here? If she’s with the League and she’s here, does that mean-.”

“No. They knew it was a matter of time before you tried to find her. Now, you don’t have to. You know why she left and you kinda know where she went. Mystery solved.” Sara shrugged. “Maybe it’s time to let her go.”

“No, I’m not doing that. I refuse to do that.” Oliver said. “She’s in Starling, so until she leaves, we haven’t missed the chance to reach her. She’s a good person. We’ll get her back.”

“How are you gonna reach her when she doesn’t wanna be in the same room as you?” Thea asked. Oliver didn’t have an answer for that.  

“How long as that camera been there?” someone asked.

“I placed it before I left town. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Clearly I was right.”

“You were right about what?” Sara asked as she came into the hideout.

“I saw a very interesting video.” Felicity said, turning to face her. “Give us the room.” The other assassins left. “You wanna explain why you told them I joined the League?”

“I thought you told him before you left. By the time I realized you hadn’t, it was too late to back out.”

“No, it wasn’t. I hid a camera in the foundry, I just watched everything that happened after they came back from the docks. You could’ve lied, or deflected the question, but you didn’t. I’d like to know why.”

“To hurry things along. We know how Ollie feels about the League. He’ll still try and bring you back, but he’s not gonna try very hard now that he knows the truth. The sooner he gives up, the sooner we can leave.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t your choice to make. And you don’t have the authority to tell them what you did. Return to Nanda Parbat.” Felicity said as she stood up.

“What-?”

“There was a plan in place to deal with Oliver. You weren’t told because you didn’t need to know, you weren’t a part of that plan. For a few reasons, some of which should be obvious. Now, you’ve ruined the plan, in addition to undermining my authority. You’re off this assignment. Go back to Nanda Parbat for another one. I’ll tell Ra’s to expect your return.”

“Felicity, I-.”

“One, that’s not my name. Two, you sat in this room when I said not to tell the Arrow or any of his allies that I was Heir to the Demon. We’re friend but that doesn’t mean orders don’t apply to you.”

Sara didn’t say anything and left the building.

“That was….interesting.”

“If I’m supposed to lead, I can’t have the people following me ignoring my orders.” She responded. “I’m pretty sure Ra’s sent her with us, anticipating this exact scenario would happen.”

“He knew she’d tell them?” Sam wondered.

“More likely he knew there’d be an incident where she ignored or disregarded my orders and wanted to know my response.”

A faint ringing noise echoed through the room. Rolling her eyes, Felicity saw that it was a burner phone ringing. She answered the call but didn’t speak.

“Felicity?” A voice on the other end said. “Is that you? Look, you don’t have to talk, but please listen. You don’t have to do this. You’re free. Don’t throw your life away by-”

She hung up. “Prank call.” She told the other assassins. They nodded, but clearly didn’t believe her.

Across town, Thea rolled her eyes. “I told you it wouldn’t work. She doesn’t wanna talk to you. And maybe saying she threw her life away wasn’t the best idea.”

“You haven’t spoken to her. How do you know how she feels?”

“Her letter. Duh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> I know there wasn't a lot of Felicity or interaction between her and Team Arrow in this chapter. That's coming next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Sam and Ana faked Sam's death, and other flashback bits (all Sam-oriented)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to write something else, but the writer's block kinda struck me so, this happened.

**Russia-2007**

Samuel was in the middle of reading _The Shining_ by Stephen King when alarms started blaring throughout the Project Nike facility. After Ana’s escape nearly two years ago, Sam was the only Project subject left. The project was deemed a failure, but the organization behind it continued to use the facility to train assassins and spies, just not with the same methods and intensity of Sam and Ana’s training. The new operatives volunteered to join as adults, and were easier to wrangle in. Most had families and friends they cared about keeping safe. Slowly, everyone who knew anything about Project Nike was being replaced. A small fraction of the original staff remained, and roughly four months ago, the director of the project was found dead in a safehouse in Kenya.

As soon as the body was found, everyone knew what had happened. Ana was excellent at hiding herself, but she hadn’t made any attempts to hide what she was doing from the people chasing her. There was a reason the original instructors and guards had started dying at higher and higher rates in the last two years.

Secretly, Sam found the situation amusing. Watching the new batch of operatives chasing after Ana but always being three steps behind made the more vindictive parts of him happy. These people, and their predecessors, had killed his family, his friend and his innocence. The only thing that made him happier than watching them chase their own tales was the knowledge that, barring coincidence, Ana would never be found.

Usually, the blaring alarm meant there had been a suspected sighting of Ana somewhere. Those in command would dispatch a team to investigate. Sometimes that team came back alive, a lot of times they didn’t. Today was different though, because today Sam was pulled into the mission briefing. He thought they were getting very, very desperate to stoop to involving him.

For two years, they sent Sam into the field, but never on the missions to locate or recapture her. Petrov, the director Ana had killed, initially claimed he hadn’t ruled out the possibility that Sam wasn’t involved in her escape. He could’ve taken the shot, and stopped her from leaving, but he didn’t. Sam was also the only person who got in her way that she didn’t shoot. The director saw that as suspicious. He then changed his excuse to not wanting to risk losing the asset he had on trying to rein in his wayward pupil.

When Sam entered the room, every other operative’s eyes turned to him. A few of the older ones rolled their eyes or scoffed. He didn’t react and took a seat at the table looking bored.

“Nice of you to join us.” The new commander said. He then turned to the others. “We have a lead on Anastasia Rostova. A team is being sent to find her and bring her back here alive.”

The other operatives all nodded, some even seemed excited. Ana was Public Enemy #1 within the organization. Anyone involved in bringing her in would have bragging rights until the day they died.  Sam, however, knew to be skeptical.

“Why’s Sokolov here then?” one of the others asked.

“Because he’s going with you.” The commander replied.

“I am?” This wasn’t very good news for Sam. While he did want to see her, his feelings for her, and the ones he suspected she had for him, complicated things. If he were anyone else, she’d kill him. And if she were anyone else, he wouldn’t be plotting how to kill the other members of his ‘team’. “Thought you didn’t want to risk it. Since you all think I helped her escape, and have just been biding my time until now. I’m the only project subject you’ve got left. Not to mention, they’d slow me down.”

“It’s a calculated risk we’re prepared to take. The project was decommissioned two years ago anyway. The team you’re being sent with is nearly as skilled as you are.” The commander said. Several members of said team didn’t like hearing that they were almost good enough. “You have the same training as Rostova. You know how she thinks, how she acts, what her weaknesses and bad habits are. Not to mention, as of three days ago, you and Antonov are the only ones who knows what she looks like. And he’s in a coma so that leaves you.”

“He is?” Another person asked.

“Yes. Reznikov and Konev were the other two, but one had a heart attack and she shot the other.”

“All the more reason not to trust him with this mission.” The defacto leader of that squad, Kuznetsov, argued. “He could tip her off or help her get away. Again.”

“In case it escaped your notice, she left me here to rot. I’m not doing her any favors.” Sam said, purposefully sounding angry. They needed to think he hated her. “Or, I can stay here and you can come back in body bags like the last several teams sent after her.”

“The decision has been made. He’s on this op.” The commander said in a serious tone. “A sniper who uses untraceable Soviet bullets has popped up in Uzbekistan. The victims so far have been rejected applicants to this program and a few….associates of the previous director.”

“Meaning?”

“She’s graduated from killing retired employees to killing anyone connected to this place in any way.”  He then went into plans and contingencies and the like. Within a few hours, the team was on a plane heading to Uzbekistan.

“So, she’s killing anyone connected to the program. Doesn’t bode too well for you, eh Sokolov.” One of them joked.

“I’m not the one who needs to worry.” Sam responded.

“Why’s that?”

“Because I’ll die better than the rest of you.” He answered. “You signed up for this, I didn’t. That matters, especially to her. She’ll still kill me, but unlike you, I’ll die quickly and relatively painlessly.”

* * *

 

**Tashkent, Uzbekistan**

The first day in Tashkent was spent doing recon. The team split up to visit all the murder scenes so far. Given everyone’s distrust of Sam, the commander ordered that at least two others were with him at all times.

Sam stood in the middle of an abandoned warehouse bored. A dead potential operative had been found in the building earlier in the week. The man had shown an inability to follow orders and was thus dismissed before training started. The Russians who came with Sam kept throwing theories and ideas back and forth. He started looking out the window, and movement caught his eye.

“What are you staring at?” Kuznetsov asked when he noticed Sam was staring.

“Nothing. Just trying not to die of boredom.” He shot back. “This is useless, like I expected. It’s so clean, you could do surgery in here. Rostova’s a lot of things, sloppy isn’t one of them.”

He didn’t tell them that their theories were all wrong, since the man wasn’t killed here. This was a medium-traffic part of town. If the smell drew the police after a few days, a gunshot certainly would’ve been reported right after it happened. He also didn’t mention the person watching them from the building next door. Or the hidden camera he’d spotted when he came into the warehouse.

Begrudgingly, the squad realized the location was a bust and headed back to their safehouse. The entire journey back, Sam knew they were being followed. One of the others, Chadov, began feeling the same sensation and turned to look. Sam stopped to sneak a peek as well. A few seconds later, Chadov waved the feeling off as paranoia and continued on his way. The second after he turned back around, Sam found himself locking eyes with Anastasia Rostova.

Another body was found the next day, on the other side of the city. This time, everyone went to the crime scene. The building was spotless, as usual, and she hadn’t left a scrap of evidence behind. They trudged back to the safehouse hours later.

Kuznetsov had just finished giving the commander an update when he approached Sam. “Walk with me.” Sam didn’t have anything better to do, so he shrugged and followed the man. They walked in silence for about fifteen minutes before Kuznetsov spoke. “What haven’t you told us?” He asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.” Kuznetsov argued. “You saw something in that warehouse yesterday. What haven’t you told us? Tell me or I’ll-”

“You’ll what, exactly? Without me, you don’t stand a chance of finding her, let alone catching her.” Sam bragged. “This might be ‘your unit’, but make no mistake, I’m in charge.” Sam said. “Are you going to continue posturing or should we head back?”

“You’ve been incredibly tight-lipped for a man who spent 17 years living with and training with our target. You were raised together, yet you’ve given us no insight on how to find her. It’s suspicious.”

“There were 16 others I lived and trained with. Ones I was raised with. None of you care about them unless it leads you to her. It won’t. I know how she thinks, but she knows how I think. And how the people calling the shots think.” Sam countered. “And when I see or think I find something relevant, I will inform you. I’m sure everyone would prefer it that way.”

“You don’t want to bring her in alive do you?”

“If that was my plan, why would I tell you?”

The other man didn’t reply, but turned to walk back the way they came. They’d been gone for roughly thirty minutes. As they approached the safehouse, Sam felt like something was off. The street was quiet, most of the citizens they’d seen bustling around had gone home for the day, and Sam could see a handful of people. A couple was on the other side of the street, in the middle of an argument. A man stalked past him muttering into a phone. Several yards ahead of him, a young woman was walking away from where he was, pushing a baby carriage. A few older women stuck their heads out and called to a group of boys playing in the street. None of this explained the sense of foreboding.

The operative who was supposed to be the lookout wasn’t at his post. Kuznetsov rushed forward to investigate. Just inside the doorway, Chadov lay in a pool of his own blood. Pushing the door open further, the other operatives were spread throughout the foyer, all dead. Clearly, they’d been surprised by someone and tried to fight their attacker off, unsuccessfully. Additionally, all of the encrypted gear the team had brought with them was either missing or completely destroyed.

A note lay on the table, held there by a boot knife no doubt belonging to one of the fallen agents. It read ‘To whom it may concern. You will not find me. Leave, while you still can.’

“She was here.” Kuznetsov scoffed. “How’d she find our safehouse?”

“Decrypting and listening in on your call to the commander. Tracking us here from one of the murder scenes. Paying someone to track us. She’s resourceful.” Sam said. “She knows they weren’t the only ones here. We need a new safehouse.”

Outside the house, at the far end of the street, Ana smiled as she kept pushing the stroller. That had been almost too easy. She waited for Sam to leave before knocking on the door using a generic ‘can I use your phone’ excuse. She needed to be sure, absolutely sure, that Sam wanted to bring her in, before killing him. She didn’t want to kill him if this mission was part of his own attempt at escape.

Sam and Kuznetsov grabbed their go-bags, locked the front door and left the safehouse, never to return. The latter stopped at a payphone and told the commander what had happened. He assured them a clean up crew would take care of the dead. They stayed in a seedy motel until the next day, when new burner phones and the address of a new safehouse were left outside their rooms.

Two days after the attack at the safehouse, another body was found. As usual, Sam and Kuznetsov. This time, however, the second they entered the building, shots were fired in their direction. Sam wasn’t hit, Kuznetsov was. Before he could even react, Ana had put a bullet through his skull.

“What are you doing here?” She asked Sam.

“They sent me. To find you.” He answered. “They wanted me to bring you back.”

“Well, you found me.” She said. She winked before firing two shots into his chest. They hit right where Sam’s Kevlar was. Feeling like she had a plan, he fell to the ground like it was real. He listened as she took a few steps away from him and fired another shot.

“Now that I’ve shot the camera, we can talk. Are you gonna try and bring me back?”

“Nope. I was hoping you’d be gone by the time we entered the country. Then I saw you at the warehouse, so I knew that was a bust. Why did you stay?”

“To see who they sent.” She shrugged. “I was gonna blow up the safehouse, but then I saw you and I needed to know why you were here before I did that. Didn’t wanna kill you until I knew who’s side you were on.”

“Yours. I’ve always been on your side. If I was on their side, I wouldn’t have stood by and watched you escape two years ago. Or hid the fact you were following us.”

“Still, I left you behind. Plenty of people would’ve felt betrayed.”

“I’m not most people. And it was your chance at freedom, probably the only chance you’d ever get. I don’t blame you for taking it.” Sam said. “One of us deserved it, at least.”

“Well, now we both can have it. Soon as he doesn’t report in, they’ll find this place.” Ana said. “And watch the footage of me shooting, and killing, both of you.”

“But they won’t find my body.”

“I was gonna dump him, and possibly you, in a river. They’ll find him eventually, and assume I dumped you somewhere else.” She shrugged. “As long as you lay low for the next six months or so, they’ll never even know.”

Sam helped her get Kuznetsov’s body into the trunk of her stolen car and went with her to dump the body. When that was done, they drove to one of the smaller villages. She ran into a house and came out holding a duffle bag. “That should be enough to get you out of Uzbekistan. Rest is up to you.”

“Ana, I-.” This was everything he’d ever dreamed of. He was free, she was free. They could be together.

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll meet again someday.” She said. “Enjoy your new life.”

“Why don’t we stick together?” He asked.

“They’ll think you’re dead. They aren’t done chasing me. Your fresh start shouldn’t be jeopardized by my baggage.” She answered. It wasn’t what she wanted to happen, but it was what needed to happen. “Someday soon, though, this will all be a bad memory and I’ll track you down. Bye Sam.”

 "Goodbye." He said as she drove away.

A month later, Sam heard a rumor of a defected Russian agent living in Shanghai. He went looking and found Ana there. Unfortunately, he arrived just in time to see Ra's al Ghul bury his sword in her chest. She fell to the ground and Sam ran blindly from the building. He couldn't believe Ana was dead.

Years later, thanks to Slade Wilson, he discovered how wrong he really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Please note: there won't be a chapter next week. See you in two weeks.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thea has a confession to make, Felicity makes a move and Sara might've played herself.

**Starling City**

Thea rolled her eyes. “I told you it wouldn’t work. She doesn’t wanna talk to you. And maybe saying she threw her life away wasn’t the best idea.”

“You haven’t spoken to her. How do you know how she feels?” Oliver asked.

“Her letter. Duh.”

“What letter?” he asked with a surprised look on his face.

“The one she sent me after she left.” Thea said. “It was mostly an apology for not saying goodbye and trying to explain why she was leaving.”

“But she mentioned me in it?”

“Not exactly. She just kinda implied that unless you came up with one hell of an apology, she didn’t give a single fuck about what you thought about her or what she did.” Thea said.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the letter?”

“Dude, you shot her, in the back, with an arrow when she tried to leave. After Roy told me about that, I held off on telling you for obvious reasons.”

“You should’ve told me.” Oliver argued.

“And you should’ve told me you were the Arrow. I guess we’re even.” Thea said before turning on the TV.

 

Across town, Felicity, Sam and the other League members sat contemplating their next move. Now that Team Arrow knew about Felicity’s position, they’d need to be even more careful about proceeding with their plans. Before Sara’s revelation, there was almost no chance of them discovering Felicity’s ‘job’ and the League’s ‘mission’ were one and the same. Now, Team Arrow knew that and it made completing said mission harder.

“Is there a reason why we can’t just kill them?” An assassin asked in regards to Team Arrow.

“They haven’t done anything that warrants death, they haven’t interfered with our business and they can’t reveal what they know without incriminating themselves.” Sam answered. “Not to mention, they have no idea why we’re actually here.”

“But they know we are here.”

“No, they know we were. We can relocate outside of the city and they will assume they left.”

“I am not leaving this city until Sobol is dead.” Felicity said. “We stick with the plan. If the Arrow gets in the way, we’ll deal with it.”

 

The next afternoon, Roy, Oliver and Digg were holed up in the Arrowcave trying to solve a puzzle. They wanted to know what connection Felicity had to the armed men at the docks. Oliver’s logic was that if they knew why Felicity was in town and if they were able to help her, she might forgive them and reconsider staying with the League. Roy wasn’t sure that was the best move, but didn’t say anything. He doubted they’d find much anyway, Felicity was that good.

“Ok, looks like Group #1 of thugs were all suspected arms dealers. A few from Group #2 have priors for drug related offenses.” Roy said, having learned a few of their names and running them through the SCPD server. “’Since when does the League care about that kind of stuff?”

“They don’t.” Oliver answered. “Unless these guys aren’t just drug-smugglers and arms dealers.” He didn't know a ton about the League, Sara was painfully quiet on the subject, but he did know that drugs and weapons weren't things they cared about. They considered that kind of thing beneath them.

“Then, what are they?”

“Something worse.”

 

Gabriel Costa was leaving his office for the night when a figure clad all in black landed in front of him. He turned to move away when another two figures, dressed the same, landed on either side of him. Looking behind him, he saw a fourth figure. He was boxed in.

“Look, no one needs to get hurt. You want my wallet?” Costa said reaching into his pocket. “Here, take it. Just don’t hurt me.”

“Do we look like muggers to you?” The person standing directly in front of him said. He was surprised to discover it was a woman’s voice.

“if aren’t here to rob me, what do you want?”

“To talk. You have some information I need.”

Before he could react, everything went black.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

“Why have you returned to Nanda Parbat so soon, Taer Al Safer?” Ra’s asked after he summoned her. She’d only arrived in Nanda Parbat about ten minutes earlier and already had to face the Demon Head.

“I suspect Al Shabh has already told you.” she answered.

“Whether she has or not is irrelevant. I want to hear it from you.” He responded. “Why have you returned so soon?”

“We had a difference of opinion.”

“You mean, she ordered those with her not to inform Oliver Queen of her connection to the League of Assassins and you ignored her orders and told him anyway.” Ra’s said. “May I ask why you chose to do that?”

“I believed trying to hide the truth from him meant our mission would take longer.”

“That may be what you told Al Shabh, but that is not the real reason. What is it?”

“He still had hope. Hope she would come back, hope she wasn’t as damaged or irredeemable as he thought. He doesn’t think so anymore.”

“So it was revenge.” He said. “It is fortunate, for you, that both myself and Al Shabh predicted something like this would occur. You may go.” He dismissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> Sorry this is such a short chapter


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has questions, and Sara's starting to get anxious

**Starling City**

When Costa came to, he was in a room he didn’t recognize. The walls were cinderblock, there were no light except one bare bulb in the ceiling and it looked like the set of _Saw._

He tried to get up, but found himself cuffed to a chair that was bolted to the floor. The only other things in the room were another chair facing him and a table in between them. There were no windows and the door was shut.

He began to panic, wondering who these people were and what they wanted. He didn’t have long to think though, since the door opened and two people came into the room. One was tall, probably a man and wore a scarf covering his face. The other person was a short, blonde woman who looked somewhat familiar to him. She sat down at the table in front of him.

“Look, I don’t know what this is about, but you’ve got the wrong guy.” He started to say. Maybe he could convince them to let him go?

“I very much doubt that.” Sam said.

“So, you’re claiming you aren’t Gabriel Costa? The accountant currently under investigation for fraud and money laundering.” Felicity asked. “You two certainly look alike, almost like twins.”

“What do you want?” he asked, since it was clear he couldn’t talk them into letting him go.

“As I told you outside your office, I’d like to talk. You have….information I need and you’re going to tell me what I want to know.” Felicity said.

“You can’t make me talk.”

“You have no clue what I can or cannot do. The sooner you tell me, the better off you’ll be.” She placed a bundle of fabric on the table and rolled it out. Costa could see that the roll contained instruments that might be useful for torture. “Now, let’s talk about some of your clients, shall we?” 

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

For the last few days, Sara had been on edge. She wasn’t naïve, she knew they’d be consequences for what she told Oliver. Her anxiety was because that punishment hadn’t come yet. The suspense was killing. Having time to reflect led to her thinking of all the things Ra’s or Felicity could do as punishment which in turn made the wait even worse.

There was a knock on the door. “The Demon Head wishes to speak with you.”

_Thank God._ Sara thought. _The wait and suspense is over._ She followed the assassin through the compound to where Ra’s was waiting.

“Taer al Safher, “ Ra’s said, not even bothering to turn around to face her, “is there a reason you are not training with the new recruits at this moment?”

“I thought the position was temporary.” She answered.

“It is, but seeing as how I did not inform you that your tenure was over, it is still your responsibility.” Ra’s said.

“Apologies. I will see to that now.” Sara said, turning away, before turning back towards him. Deciding to take a risk, she wanted to ask what the consequences of her actions were going to be. “My Lord, about what transpired between Al Shabh and myself in Starling-.”

“We will discuss that, and the penalties, in due time.” he said cutting her off. “Do not delude yourself into believing that matter is closed. And do not neglect your duties again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> I know this is a short chapter, I'm sorry


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity gets some answers and Oliver and Felicity talk

**Starling City**

“Let’s talk about some of your clients, shall we?” Felicity asked as she looked over the instruments in front of her. The room went silent and the blonde picked up a scalpel, only to put it back down and pick up a knife. She stood and approached him, holding it in one hand.

“Like I said, you can’t make me talk.”

“Wanna bet?” Felicity asked before using the knife to cut a very deep gash into his leg. ‘Now, I don’t want to have to do this, but if won’t tell me what I wanna know, I kinda have to. And, as you can see, I have plenty of tools at my disposal to use on you. Like….this one.” she reached back onto the table and picked up something that looked like it came from the Inquisition. She held it up to show him. Out of the corner of his eye, Costa saw Sam smirk.

“I- I don’t- which client?” Costa asked as she got closer to him with it.

“Rostam Sobol.”

“Sobol? I- I can’t. You don’t understand, he’ll kill me.”

“And what do you think I’m gonna do if you don’t?” Sam asked from the corner. “You tell us what we want to know, you just might make it out of this alive.”

“We know enough about him already.” Felicity told him. “Who he is, what he’s done. What ‘business’ he’s in. His employees. Everything, except where he is right now.”

“I- we don’t interact face-to-face. He’s always sent a representative to our meetings.” Costa said panicking.

“Oh, we know. You’re still going to lead us to him though.”

“How? I don’t even know what he looks like.” He yelled. Felicity’s face morphed into rage and he started to backpedal. “Look, i- I’ll set something up, a trap if you want, but that’s all I can really do.”

“Is that so?” Felicity said, dangling the torture device from one finger. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“It’s the truth. Just don’t- don’t use whatever that thing is on me!”

Felicity and Sam both started laughing. When they finished, the blonde revealed something to their captive. “This thing? You wanna know what it does?” She brought it up to her face and close the clamps around her eyelashes. A few seconds later, she released them. “It’s an eyelash curler.” She turned to Sam. “I told you he’d see it and think it’s a torture device.”

“Okay, so I owe you ten bucks.” Sam shrugged.

“I- it- I told you what you wanted to know. Now let me go.”

“I would, but you still need to lead us to him.” Felicity said, getting up, grabbing her things and leaving the room.

Sam stayed, and as soon as the door closed, he stalked over to Costa and stabbed him in the heart. He died instantly. Felicity then told one of the other assassins to leave his body in a very conspicuous place for the police to find. They knew Sobol had an officer on his payroll, but they hadn’t narrowed down who it was just yet.

 

Oliver continued to beat the crap out of one of the training dummies. Since Felicity had hung up on him days ago, he hadn’t seen or heard from her. He also hadn’t caught wind of any League activities happening in Starling. Sara had apparently left the city, so he couldn’t even ask her for a hint. The part of him that wanted to protect his city from the League hoped they were gone for good. The part of him that wanted to help Felicity, talk her out of joining the League, hoped they weren’t.

Oliver was pulled out of his reverie when he heard light footsteps on the stairs. “What is it, Speedy?” he asked without looking up.

“I’m a little too tall and blonde to be Thea.”

“Felicity- sorry, Ana?”

“Like I told Waller, Anastasia Rostova is dead. Sam's the only one who still calls me Ana. You can still call me Felicity.” she said in an indifferent voice. “I thought we should talk.”

“Me too. Did you join the League because of me? because of what I did?”

“This might surprise you, but not everything that happens is your fault or about you. You didn’t have anything to do with my decision to join.” She said.

“But you aren’t a fully-fledged member already, are you? I- we can still help get you out, get you away from them.”

“Wow.” Felicity said. “You still don’t get it. Not only do I not want your help, but I don’t need it. I thought if you’d learned anything in the last year it was that I’ve never needed your help. And I don’t need saving.”

“I never said you-“

“Don’t throw your life away. We can still help you. Sounds an awful lot like you wanna save me. You can’t anymore than I can save you from the island. It’s a part of us. I need you to get that.”

“I do, it’s just- I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“The way I treated you during the things with the Russians. Not trusting you after you told me your story. Shooting you with a tranq arrow. Not being a good partner or friend.”

“And are you apologizing because you’re really sorry or because you think doing so will make me stay?”

“I want you to stay, I won’t deny it. But mostly, its because I feel bad for what happened.”

“Well, I don’t accept your apology, but I’m not completely rejecting it either. So let’s say you’re on the road to forgiveness.”

“That’s better than the alternative. Do you- are you happy in the League?”

“No one joins the League to be happy. I do find the work satisfying, however.”

“Killing people is satisfying?”

“When they are evil people, yes. Don’t judge me Oliver. I’ve dealt with more darkness in my life than you have. I reached a point where I decided killing itself isn’t good or bad, it all depends on who’s dying. I kill pedophiles and war criminals and psychopaths who prey on the weak. People the world is better off without. It doesn’t make me a hero, but it doesn’t make me a monster either.”

“I’m not calling you a monster. I just don’t understand how you reached that point.”

“And maybe one day I’ll tell you. I’ll warn you though, its not a happy story.”

“It never is.” The archer replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's target has a very bad day. (As a reminder, he doesn't know anyone's after him until now)

Rostam Sobol was pouring himself another drink in his upscale office when one of his lieutenants came rushing into the room. Peterson looked panicked, which he always did, so the kingpin wasn’t overly concerned.

“What?”

“Danny gave me the rest of this month’s deposit, including what the shithole earned.” Sobol was using a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to launder the money most of his business yielded.

“And?”

“I took it to the usual place. It was completely empty.”

“Define empty.” Sobol said putting his glass down and leaning against the desk.

“The money’s gone. All of it.”

“All of it? Someone managed to sneak 15 million dollars out without anyone noticing?” he yelled. “What do I pay those idiots for then?! Where are they?”

“Nick was the only one there when I got there. He’d been tied up and knocked out. Didn’t see who did it.”

“And the other two?”

“Haven’t seen ‘em.” Peterson answered.

“Put the word out. I want them found. Half a mil to the person who finds them.” He responded. “And get that snake Costa on the phone.”

They called the accountant, but he didn’t answer. Costa always answered, because he knew they’d do something horrible to him if he didn’t. Sobol was about to start firing shots when one of his other lieutenants came into the room.

“Bad news, boss.”

“What? What could be worse?”

“Got a call from Pace. The number-cruncher is dead.” Jason Pace was one of the police officers on Sobol’s payroll.

“How? Who? When?”

“They don’t know any of that. Didn’t leave any evidence. Hell, they didn’t even leave all of him. They only found a hand.” he answered.

“That doesn’t mean he’s dead. Get me a new accountant.” Sobol ordered. “And make sure all my money’s still there.”

Both his men exited the room quickly and got to work. Then, a call came in. A dismembered arm was found floating in the bay. An hour later, a police officer on the other side of the city found Costa’s head. Then, the really bad news came. Someone had cleared out Rostam’s accounts. All except one account, which had $50,000. He was basically broke.

 

Across town, Felicity was gleefully counting all of Rostam’s ill-gotten gains. It was almost too easy, finding his ‘bank’ and breaking in. Maybe it was because the League didn’t care about money that they found it so pathetically easy. In any case, Felicity was sure that the local women’s shelter, animal society and home for at-risk youth would appreciate the generous donations they were about to receive.

“Al Shabh,” one of the assassins spoke up.

“Yes?”

“If we knew where his money was, why did we not question his follower to learn his location?”

“Because, this isn’t just about killing Sobol. It’s about sending a message beforehand. He’ll reveal himself soon enough anyway. Where are we on IDing his source in the SCPD?”

“We narrowed it down to six.” Sam answered. “Its possible he has more than one.”

“Oh, I know he’s got at least two. One in vice, one on major crimes. Which do you think he’ll find out about first though? His accountant being dead and his money going missing or the tip that’s getting his foot soldiers arrested as we speak.” Felicity had, as a favor, told Oliver about a big drug deal that was supposed to go down that night. She passed the same information on to Captain Lance, anonymously. Based on the radio chatter, the deal had been interrupted quite spectacularly.

“Hopefully the second, but more likely the first.” Sam said.

 

“Goddamn it!” Sobol yelled as he knocked everything on his desk onto the floor.

His cash was gone, his accounts were empty, and his accountant was dead. The wire transfers were untraceable and no one had any answers. To make matters worse, the SCPD had gotten an anonymous tip that led to some of his grunts getting collared. Evans should’ve given him a heads up or ‘accidentally’ made the evidence disappear, but thanks to his own stupidity and the Arrow, was suspended. He’d been trying to scope out their competition when the Arrow arrived and restrained everyone for the SCPD. Evans didn’t work undercover and it wasn’t his case, so he had no legitimate reason to be there.

He was about to start knocking something else over when his phone rang. The caller ID said it was Brady, who was the proxy he sent to deal with Costa.

“This had better be good, Brady.” He growled into the phone.

“Boss? It’s a-” There was a bang and a choking noise on the other end of the phone.

“So, now that I know you’re listening, let’s talk.” A digitally-altered voice said. He couldn’t tell if it was male or female. “I’m the person who took all your money.”

“That was suicidal of you.”

“I needed your attention. It was easy to get. Sad.”

“What do you want?”

“I suggest you find a new line of work. If you don’t, well, you’ll see.” The other caller hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Next chapter: 8/31


	13. Chapter 13

“What do you want?” Sobol asked.

“I suggest you find a new line of work. If you don’t, well, you’ll see.” The other caller hung up.

He looked at the phone for a second before throwing it across the room, shattering it. His two lieutenants jumped back in shock at the action. He then began panting in anger.

“I want that call traced. I want this asshole found.” He barked at his men. “He wanted my attention, he got it. I’m gonna make him regret it.”

“Who?” one of his men was stupid enough to ask.

“Mr. Rogers.” He said sarcastically. “The suicidal idiot who stole all my cash, you idiot! Find him, before I take it out on one of you.”

 

Across town, Felicity smirked in satisfaction as she put the phone down. Baiting her target was easier than she expected. He was already angry enough to start making mistakes.

“I’m not saying your plan isn’t thought out, but was that a good idea?” Sam asked.

“It was. He’s cocky, relies heavily on his men and has a hair-trigger temper. When someone’s that angry, they don’t think clearly. And they do stupid things, like fall into the trap Waller did.”

“You wanna run the same con twice? That’s very….un-Ana of you.”

“It’s not the same con twice. It’s the same manipulation twice. Totally different. Get them angry enough, or curious enough to deal with it themselves, and they fall right into my hands. Besides, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“Fair enough.”

 

The Arrow was meeting up with Captain Lance to discuss the huge bust SCPD had just successfully orchestrated. “How did you come by this intel anyway? No offense, but this kinda stuff isn’t exactly on your level.”

Sobol’s business didn’t just impact Starling, it effected people up and down the west coast. His operation had teams in the DEA, FBI, Homeland and even the IRS working on it. The Arrow up until now was focused solely on threats to Starling.

“An old friend reached out to me.” he answered. “Was that all you wanted, Captain?”

Lance nodded and Oliver left. As he was leaving, he began to wonder why Felicity had tipped him off in the first place. He had a point, drug operations that spanned multiple states weren’t exactly criminals he dealt with every night. And there hadn’t been an uptick in drug deaths lately, like with Vertigo, to justify the Arrow investigating. He supposed she told him as a sign of good faith or something.  

“How did we get that info?” Digg asked as soon as he got back to the foundry.

“Felicity. She sent me a message last night. Sent the same thing to Lance. Didn’t say why she was doing so, just that I ‘might find it interesting’.” He answered.

“You think it’s connected to why she came back?”

“Either that or she wanted us distracted.”

“We aren’t enemies, why would I want you distracted?” Felicity’s voice called out from behind them. 

“Stop doing that!”

“No. I wanted to help, that’s why I told you. A number of the people arrested have been crucial to creating, and worsening, the city’s drug problem. If you look into them, you’ll see that they know your friends from the docks.”

“That’s why you were at the docks that night?”

“Not exactly.” She answered. “Like I told you then, I needed information.” She sighed. “Your interests and mine just happened to align. I gotta go.” She turned and left.

 

Almost a week later, Sobol’s men were still nowhere in terms of finding Felicity or their money. Each day, he seemed to get more livid and unhinged that they returned empty-handed. Exactly one week to the second after Felicity called to taunt him, his phone rang again.

“What?!”

“I see you still didn’t take my advice.”

“Listen you son of a bitch-!”

“No, you listen. I told you to get out of the business. I gave you a week to do so. You didn’t. Turn on your computer and see  what it cost you.”

He rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. After it finished booting up, the screen went blank for several moments. Then a live CCTV feed appeared, filling the screen. A man in a prison uniform could be seen in the room, which looked like a generic prison cell.

“Is that-?” one of his men asked.

“I know I don’t need to tell you this, because I know you recognize him, but you’re looking at James Payne. Your close friend and business partner, caught for smuggling. He’s, what, three days away from his release?” Felicity said.

Everyone watched as a guard unlocked the door to the cell. Payne turned towards the guard to ask something, but the feed didn’t have audio. They watched as the guard drew his weapon and shot him point-blank in the head.

“Well, he had three days.” She remarked. “Maybe now, you’ll take my warning more seriously.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	14. Chapter 14

“Maybe now, you’ll take my warning more seriously.” Felicity said before ending the call.

Sobol and his men stood staring at the screen in shock. Not only had this mystery caller interfered with their business, but they killed one of Sobol’s closest friends. Whoever this person was they were both incredibly well-informed and well-connected. It was concerning, how much their enemy knew about them while they knew nothing about their enemy.

“Put the word out. I want any info anyone can find on this asshole. And I’ll pay handsomely for it.” Sobol said when the shock wore off.

“We don’t have any money, Boss.” One of them reminded him.

“I know that you idiot. They don’t. Besides, we find the man on the other end, we find our money.” Sobol said. “He wants to play dirty, I’ll play dirty.”

 

Two days later, Oliver, John and Roy had begun noticing the uptick in criminal activity in Starling as well as an increase in warring groups seeming to call a truce. Most of the criminals they caught wouldn’t talk. The only one that did claimed his boss was looking for ‘the man on the phone’. None of them knew for sure what that meant.

Oliver had a feeling though and asked Felicity to stop by Verdant. She arrived, and made her way downstairs. She wasn’t surprised to see everyone else was already there.

“Please tell me we aren’t here to rehash any of our past arguments? I’d think the fact that you keep losing would be enough of a deterrent.”

“Not here to start a fight I’d lose.” Oliver said. “Just wanted some answers.”

“Ok, about what?” Felicity said crossing her arms.

“Does your mission have anything to do with the increase in gang activity recently?”

“It might, as a side effect. Why?”

“The city’s already noticed the uptick in gang activity. Do you have something to do with it?”

“Yes. I tracked a crime lord down. I took all of his money, and I mean all of it. Then, I called to mock him a few times. He’s very easy to manipulate. He reached out to some of his buddies. We’re dealing with it.” she said honestly. “Gimme a few more days and it won’t be a problem anymore.”

“What do you mean ‘it won’t be a problem’?” John asked.

“I mean, I’ll have it handled by then.” She answered. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What happened to Sara? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Oliver said. He meant to sound casual, it didn’t work.

“I sent her back to Nanda Parbat for disobeying my orders.” She answered. “She wasn’t supposed to tell you that I was Heir to the Demon. She knew I ordered her not to and did it anyway. So, I sent her back to Nanda Parbat to be given another assignment.”

“You made her leave because she ignored what you wanted?”

“She didn’t ‘ignore what I wanted’, she disobeyed an order. If she can’t respect my authority and follow my orders, I don’t want her on my missions. She’s my friend but that doesn’t mean the rules don’t apply to her. Actions have consequences.”

“How was this supposed to go then? If she never told us the truth?”

“Easy. I was gonna do what I came here to do and then disappear again. No muss, no fuss. You’d probably look for me for a few months before giving up. And Felicity Smoak fades into memory, just like Anastasia Rostova, Kelly Birchman and every other identity I’ve had.”

“We wouldn’t have given up on you that easily.”

“You already did when you found out the truth. Then, you decided to ‘save’ me from myself basically which would’ve been pointless. I’ll admit, Felicity Smoak would’ve been different.”

“How?”

“I wouldn’t have killed everyone who knew the name. Not everyone who met Felicity turned out to be her enemy. It was the first name I had where someone would miss them.” she said before shrugging. “Oh well. Doesn’t change anything.”

“Having friends and connections doesn’t change anything? It changes everything.”

“No, it doesn’t. The life I had here was a lie. Everything I was, was a lie. I tried to live a normal life, but it didn’t work out. I’m not meant to be normal. It ends badly for me, every time. I get people killed. Why keep pretending I don’t?”

“So, what? You think you’re cursed or something?”

“No, I’m not cursed. This is just who I am. I’m exactly what they made me to be. Good and bad.” Felicity said. “I’m guessing that’s all you wanted to know. Goodbye.”

She was leaving the foundry when she heard footsteps following her. “Wait a second.”

“What?”

“You don’t- I know you always think it ends badly, but it doesn’t have to be like this. Your life here isn’t gone. You can stay and live the life you always wanted.”

“Don’t you get it, Oliver?” she asked wearily. “People like me, we don’t get happy endings. What we want is never what we get. I was an idiot to think I could just leave the past behind me.” He didn’t have a response for that, so she kept walking.

 

Felicity arrived at the League safehouse where two assassins were watching over one of Sobol’s men they’d captured. They took the canvas bag off his head and the man immediately started yelling threats.

“Do we look intimidated to you, Mr. Petrovic?” Felicity asked.

“How do you-?”

“I stole all your boss’s money. It shouldn’t surprise you that I know your name.”

“You stole it?” he asked incredulously.

“That’s neither here nor there. I need you. To give your boss a message.” She said as she stepped further into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Tumblr: laxit21


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity takes another step in pushing her enemy to the edge and he finally realizes what's going on

“I stole all your boss’s money. It shouldn’t surprise you that I know your name.”

“You stole it?” he asked incredulously.

“That’s neither here nor there. I need you. To give your boss a message.” Felicity said as she stepped further into the room. “And I’m afraid you won’t be leaving this room alive.” It wasn’t until that moment that Petrovic noticed that every other person in the room had a sword of some kind. “It’s nothing personal.”

 

“I just don’t get it.” Oliver said. “She’s here for League business, she said as much, but since when does the League care about drugs dealers and the like?”

“It doesn’t.” Diggle said. “ARGUS did some digging. The dealers have a connection to black market arms dealers. And the gun-runners have links to an organization that’s infiltrated police forces and governments up and down the west coast. She isn’t after the dealers, she’s after whoever’s pulling the strings.”

“Again, why would the League care?”

“Maybe they got in Ra’s way, maybe its competition, maybe it’s a test. I don’t know.”

Sobol was in his office, screaming and ranting about his money still being gone and his men’s inability to find the person responsible. He was about to break his own rule, using his own product, to calm himself down when there was a knock on the door.

“Uh, boss?”

“What?!”

“We kinda- someone just dropped off a package addressed to you.”

“How is that possible? Nothing links any of our fronts to this place.” He said before sighing. “Fine. Bring it in, along with the guy who delivered it. Maybe he knows.”

“About that….no one saw it get delivered. Frankie came back from checking the back gate and it was just sitting there, waiting.”

“Are you fucking kidding me with that shit? How incompetent are you? What do I pay you idiots for if someone can drop something here and no one see them?”

“Uh, do you want the box or not?” His lackey asked through the door.

“Yes.” He shouted.

The door opened the rest of the way and his associate placed a small, square box on his desk. There were no markings on the box except for the words ‘For the Boss’ written on the top flap. Rolling his eyes, Sobol pulled out a knife and cut through the tape. An unpleasant smell began to waft out. Trying not to breathe too deeply, he opened the box the rest of the way.

There, sitting in the box, was Petrovic’s decapitated head.

“Is that-?”

“Yes.” He answered grimly. A second later, the phone rang. “What?”

“Did you enjoy your gift?”

“I hope you realize who you’re fucking with. Before, I was just gonna kill you. Now, I’m gonna make you wish you were dead.”

“Yeah, I’m terrified.” Felicity scoffed. “You talk a lot but you never do anything. It’s pathetic. What? Did your balls go missing when I took all your money?”

“You wanna start a war? Fine.”

“Wow, you really are an idiot. We’re already at war, and you’re losing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's plan begins to come together and she reaches an understanding with Team Arrow

“You wanna start a war? Fine.”

“Wow, you really are an idiot. We’re already at war, and you’re losing.” Felicity told Sobol. “This can all be over soon.”

“Oh, really? How?”

“Easy. Admit defeat. Admit that you can’t beat me, which is true, and that you should’ve taken the out I gave you.” she told him. “Then, I’ll come kill you.”

“Why would I surrender if you’ll kill me as soon as I do?”

“I’m gonna kill you regardless. The only difference is that if you give up now, I’ll kill you quickly. I know plenty of ways to make your death painful. Just ask Petrovic. Oh, wait.”

Sobol slammed the phone down so hard, he broke part of the receiver off. he then continued to hit the phone on the desk until it was completely unusable.

 

Across town, Felicity smirked when the call cut out. “Like I said, you make someone angry enough, they’ll make all kinds of stupid decisions.”

“What stupid decision are we trying to make him make?”

“I’m gonna start to leave him some breadcrumbs. He’ll follow them right to us.”

“I don’t know why you didn’t just kill him weeks ago.” Sam remarked.

“If I just kill him, someone will take his place soon after. First, we destroy his business. We salt the earth so that his ‘empire’ never rises again. Then, after I’ve taken everything he’s worked so hard for, I’ll kill him.”

“An awful lot of work for one drug dealer.”

“We both know that he isn’t just a drug dealer. Or an arms dealer. Those are just what he uses to hide his real business. The restaurant’s a cover for the drug empire which is a cover for his actual business.”

“I know you better than anyone. You wanna tell me why this is so personal to you?”

“How can it not be? I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, so have you. But there are two things neither of us has done. I don’t kill kids, and I don’t sell people. Sobol does.” Felicity said. “Besides that, if human trafficking wasn’t a thing, half the friends we lost wouldn’t have even been born. I’ve got a very good reason to want him, and everyone like him, dead.”

 

Across town in the foundry, Oliver, Digg and Roy were still trying to work out what Felicity’s, and the League’s, interest in Sobol was. They knew his organization had infiltrated governments up and down the coast, but so far, couldn’t figure out what they were up to. They hadn’t made any moves as a whole and there hadn’t been any whispers of a big plan they had in the works. ARGUS was still looking into the connections they found, but nothing relevant had come up yet.

“Maybe there is no reason.” Roy said. “Maybe Ra’s just told her to kill him, so that’s what she’s doing.”

“She wouldn’t go to all this effort to kill one person if that was the case.”

“She doesn’t do things by accident or for no reason. He had to have done something really bad to either make her this angry or Ra’s this focused on not just killing him, but destroying him.”

“Well, we’ve got no idea what that reason is, so-“

“There was one thing Lyla found. The case never made it to trial and she couldn’t anything to back up the claims but it does involve them.” John said.

“What is it?”

“Speculations that some of this group’s members are involved with really unsavory stuff, like human trafficking.”

“Felicity’s trying to take down a human trafficking ring?”

“Not take it down, destroy it.” Felicity said from the steps. She’s snuck into the room just after Roy starting talking. “Everyone involved, everyone who was complicit, anyone who profited from it, the whole shebang.”

“Seems a little extreme.”

“Are you really going to argue that human trafficking is a good thing? Or that people who partake in it are good people?”

“No, but killing everyone involved-“

“Is the most acceptable solution. And I said destroy, not kill. Arresting those responsible just creates a power vacuum for someone else to come in and continue where they left off. My way sends a much more serious message than just getting some heavy hitters arrested.”

“Fine. What do you need from us?”

“I don’t need anything from you.” she said. “But I guess if you want to help, I shouldn’t say no automatically.”

“I won’t kill anyone but-“

“I wouldn’t ask you to. I might not agree with your ‘no killing’ mentality all the time, but I’m willing to respect it.” she said. “If you want to help, meet me at the warehouse where Waller died tomorrow night. If you don’t show, no hard feelings.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's plan finally comes together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, its been a while. I just couldn't find the right motivation to write.

Oliver, Roy and Digg showed up to the foundry the next night. They all knew Felicity’s offer and they knew she’d left it open-ended for a reason. She didn’t seem to care one way or another whether they showed up to help her, but they also knew this was related to a deeper issue for her. Helping her take down the human trafficking ring meant they understood and accepted who she really was. Not showing up implied the opposite. In spite of everything that had happened, everything they’d all gone through, they didn’t want to lose Felicity.

Oliver put on his hood, jumped on his bike and rode to where Felicity told him to meet her. Unsurprisingly, Roy and Digg joined him. They approached the warehouse and were stopped by members of the League.

“What is your business here?”

“Fel- Al Shabh asked us to come.” Oliver answered.

Two of the assassins froze and looked to the third. The man pulled off his mask and they saw it was Sam. “I’m glad you came. Follow me.” They entered the building. “Has she told you what’s going on?”

“I know you’re taking down a human trafficking ring and tonight’s the night she plans to kill everyone involved.” Oliver answered.

“So, that’s a ‘no’ then.”

“What else is there to know?”

“You know what we’re doing, but you don’t know why she’s doing this.” He answered. “This is more than just a mission for her, as the Demon Head was well aware when he assigned it to her.”

They found Felicity in the middle of the warehouse, setting up traps in case anyone tried to sneak up on them. She also wanted to play with her prey for a little bit longer after they arrived. When she heard the group approach, she turned around.

“You came. I had a bet going with myself about whether you would. Looks like I won.” She said, referring back to what she’d said shortly after learning Oliver’s secret.

“Where else would we be? We don’t see eye-to-eye, but you’re still a friend. And you said we should come if we wanted to help.” Oliver pointed out. “What do you need?”

“Someone to cover the exits.” She told them.

 

Sobol was so ecstatic about what his hacker found that he also started giggling. After weeks of the cat-and-mouse routine, his enemy had finally messed up. The man had finally made a mistake. Now, it was time to make the asshole pay.

“You’re sure this is real?”

“Yeah, boss. It’s real. The hacker that stole all our money used a very distinct code. They tried to hack back today, but this time I traced it. Signal came from an abandoned warehouse in the Glades.”

“He hid right under our noses.” Sobol remarked. He turned to his lieutenants. “Tell everyone to get ready. Everyone. Let’s end this.”

Sobol and his entire organization armed themselves and got into a fleet of generic SUVs. They drove to the warehouse the hacker had told them about and stormed in.

“All right, asshole. You wanna kill me, I’m right here!” He shouted as he entered the building.

Arrows shot out of the darkness, coming from several different directions. Half of his men were either dead or wounded within a few moments.

“Yes, you’re right there. Right where I want you to be.” Felicity said from where she was standing on the catwalk above Sobol. She jumped down and landed on the floor. “Almost like I led you right to me.”

“You? You’re the dick that’s been fucking with me for weeks?”

“Well, I don’t think ‘dick’ is the right term since, you know,” she gestured to her body, “but yes. It was me.” She looked behind her for a moment. “Sam?”

Sam gave an order in Arabic and the League members with them stepped out of the shadows and began fighting Sobol’s remaining men. They might’ve had guns, but the assassins won out in the end. A few tried running for the exits, but Roy and Oliver shot them with ensnarement arrows and they didn’t get very far.

Soon, the only person left standing was Sobol. Felicity unsheathed her sword. “Time to die.”

“Wait. Before you try to kill me, because I doubt you’ll succeed. Answer a question for me. Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why go to all of this trouble?”

“Well, I think you’re a pile of shit and you deserve to die. Drugs and weapons are one thing, we all gotta make a living. But you, you also sell people and I’m not okay with that. Neither are my friends.”

“So, its not personal.”

“Oh no, it is.” She told him as she stabbed him in the abdomen. She pulled the blade out. “One of the people you sold, her name was Natasha Rostova.” He didn’t get to react before she cut off his head.

“Rostova?” Oliver asked. He knew what that name meant to Felicity. If Felicity was Anastasia Rostova, who was Natasha Rostova?

“Her mother.” Sam answered his unasked question. “The program didn’t kidnap people for the experiment, they bought them. How do you think we ended up at that base?”

“So, all of this-?”

“It was about stopping Sobol. The lengths that she went to though, that was about revenge. I told you this wasn’t just a mission for her.” He walked away towards Felicity.

She told the League to take care of the bodies. She’d given law enforcement agencies anonymous tips on where to find Sobol’s ‘merchandise’, so they’d be rescued soon. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do now. The director was dead. Sobol was dead. Everyone involved in the program was dead.

“What’s wrong? We prevailed.” Sam asked as he moved closer to her.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now, I finally avenged my mom and-“

“Right now, I think we should celebrate. We did what we came here to do, and you repaired some of the bridges you thought were burnt.” He snuck a peek at where Oliver, John and Roy were standing. “They did come to help.”

“Yes, they did.” she said with a small smile as she walked over to them. “Anyone up for a drink?”

“Yeah.”

Felicity and Sam went back to Verdant with them and changed into normal clothes. They were heading upstairs to the club when Oliver stopped Felicity. “I’m sorry about your mother.”

“Don’t be. I finally got justice for her.” She said. “For both of my parents. I think I’m finally ready to go back.”

“Go back where?”

“The base. Where it happened, where they’re buried. I haven’t even thought about it since I left. I was so desperate to get out.”

“So, back to Russia and then on to Nanda Parbat.” He summarized.

“Something like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's one, maybe two more chapters left before the story ends. What do you think will happen?


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's journey reaches a point where she has to make a decision.

After everyone had changed out of their uniforms and into their normal clothes, they headed upstairs to Verdant. It was a week night, so the club wasn’t very busy, giving them all some privacy.

Felicity ordered a drink and Oliver walked up behind her. “I don’t really know what to say here.”

“Maybe its best not to say anything.” Felicity remarked. “You can’t regret what you say if you never say it.”

“But I can regret not saying certain things.” he argued. “And if this is the last time I’m ever gonna see you, I wanna- I feel like just ‘bye, have a nice life’ isn’t enough.”

“It’s not, but I also get the feeling that this isn’t really a goodbye. More like I’ll see you around.” She said. She had a plan for what came next, she wasn’t sure it would work, but she had one. She didn’t want anyone else to know about it either.

“I want to ask something, but I don’t want to make you angry by asking.” He said after several seconds of silence.

“Nothing you ask me is gonna piss me off as the time you shot me, so fire away.”

“Will you tell me what happened to your parents?” Oliver asked. He knew how important they were to her and how much their deaths had shaped her, and he just wanted to fully understand the reason behind it.

“Sure. I guess my father is the easiest to start with, I didn’t really know him. They get sperm samples from an elite Soviet Special Ops team, think Russian Seal Team Six. And they used it to impregnate the captive women they had, one of which was my mother. He didn’t know for a long time what the samples were used for. Then, some of his comrades started looking into it. His comrades then started dying, and the others started trying to figure out why. He showed up at the base, demanding his child with the few soldiers that remained. A fight ensured and they were killed. I watched said fight happen and didn’t know he was my father until after he was dead. He’s buried in a shallow grave at that base.”

“And your mother?”

“When I was eight, she finally woke up and realized what they were doing to us. Now, I knew she was my mother, but I never had the relationship with her that most kids had. Anyway, she didn’t want them turning me into a killer, so she tried to take me and escape. We made it all of the way out of the building before anyone stopped us. She pulled out a gun and threatened to shoot me if they didn’t let us go. One of those ‘if I can’t keep my child safe’ situations.” She sighed. “The director called her bluff, saying if she were serious, she would’ve done it already. They dragged us back inside. Three days later- they weren’t going to ignore what happened.”

“What did they do?”

“They tortured my mother, and they made me watch. I think she knew they were gonna kill her, because she was saying she loved me when the guard shot her in the head. She didn’t even get to finish. That was- she’d never said those words to me before, she never got a chance to. The director turned to me after that she was killed and said ‘see what loves does to you?’ Kinda hard to move past something like that, which is why I hunted down and killed everyone involved.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t want your pity.”

“It’s not pity, its- I wish I could say I know how you feel, but I don’t. I can’t even imagine.”

“You don’t want to imagine. It doesn’t matter. I survived. I made things right. My parents can finally rest.”

“And now that they’ve been avenged, you’re gonna be an assassin again. I thought that wasn’t what you wanted.”

“It wasn’t, but I never get what I want.” She said. “I’m- we’re leaving in the morning, to go to Nanda Parbat. I guess I’ll see you the next time our paths cross.”

“Looking forward to it.”

 

The next morning, when Roy stopped by Felicity’s old house to say goodbye, he found it empty. He went back to the others and reported what he found, and Oliver didn’t seem surprised.

“She thinks a clean break is best. And I get the feeling we’ll see her soon.” He told them.

“Because things ended on a good note this time?”

“Yeah. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking.”

 

In Nanda Parbat, Felicity finished telling Ra’s what had happened in Starling. She told him everything that occurred between their boat docking in the bay to the moment they returned to the ship to sail home. Sam and other assassins interjected as needed when retelling the story.

“Now that Anastasia Rostova’s business is finished, are you prepared to ascend to the title of the Demon Head?” He asked.

“No.” She answered, to the shock of everyone in the room. “In fact, I’ve got no intention of taking your place.”

“The prophecy-“

“Says that the person who survives the sword of Ra’s al Ghul shall become Ra’s al Ghul. I survived your sword, but so has Nyssa. And unlike me, she wants to lead the League.” Felicity explained. “My parents both died trying to stop me from being a killing machine. Becoming the Demon Head would make their sacrifices meaningless.”

“Fine. If you will not join, then you will die.” Ra’s said, pulling out his sword.

They fought. As part of the League’s code, no one else tried to interfere in their battle. The fight lasted for some time, since both were skilled at fighting and Ra’s had personally trained Felicity to sword fight. He was skilled, but he was also much older, which made him slightly slower as well. She saw an opening and stabbed him directly in the heart.

“I want to thank you for mentoring me. You’re the kindest teacher I’ve had the pleasure of learning from.” She said as she watched the light leave his eyes.

She pulled the sword out of his chest and turned to leave. The other assassins stepped in front of her to stop her. She stared them down until they moved out of her way. Nyssa and Sara came into the room and froze at the sight.

“What have you done?”

“I just made you the Demon Head. You’re welcome.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m done with the whole assassin thing. And I wasn’t gonna help your dad mutilate Sara because she did something I didn’t like.”

“What?” Sara asked.

“He didn’t like you, I think you realize that, but he tolerated you for Nyssa’s sake. Your punishment for disobeying my orders wasn’t gonna be pretty. He hadn’t decided what it was going to be, but I imagine some form of torture or other serious injury were gonna be involved. I didn’t want a part in that.” She turned back to Nyssa. “Congrats. You’re the boss now. I’m leaving.”

“Best of luck to you.” Nyssa told her.

“Thanks.” She turned to Sam. “You staying or going?”

“Like I told you, I’m going wherever you’re going.”

The pair packed their few belongings and left Nanda Parbat. They hadn’t decided on a destination yet, and that was fine with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so we have two options-  
> 1) I can end it here  
> 2) mini epilogue
> 
> Also, what do you guys think of me writing an alternate version of this story that ends with Olicity happening? It won't go the same way this one did and will probably be a little longer. Let me know


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity finally puts some things to rest.

Felicity let out a sigh of relief as her shovel finally hit something other than dirt She felt like she’d been digging for hours, even though she knew it hadn’t been that long. Then again, everything that happened on these grounds seemed like it took an eternity.

“You sure you wanna do this?” Sam asked her. “I’m not saying ‘don’t’. I’m just wondering. This is the last chance for you to change your mind. We can fill the holes back up and it’ll be like nothing happened.”

“No, I want to. They- my parents died trying to save me. They deserve better than some unmarked grave in the middle of the Russian wilderness.”

“Technically this is Ukrainian wilderness.”

“Don’t nitpick.” She told him. “They were my parents. I can’t just leave them here.” She looked back up at him from her spot in the hole. “Kinda surprised you don’t wanna move yours.”

“I don’t know which squad member was my dad and my mom didn’t try to break me out of here.” He shrugged. “I don’t have the same ‘they wanted to save me’ guilt that you do.”

“Fine. I think you’re gonna regret it in a few years, but fine.” Felicity said as she realized the thing her shovel had touched was a sheet that was wrapped around something. She lifted the sheet up a little bit and a piece of bone fell out. Sam helped her get that body, and the one next to it, out of the makeshift graves.

Together, they drove to the village Natasha Rostova had been born in. Felicity had done some research after she went into hiding and learned as much as she could about her mother. There was a spot by the river on the edge of town that struck Felicity as a good resting place for her parents.

They buried her parents by the river, with a stack of pebbles marking their graves. Sam was eager to leave Russia as soon as possible and as soon as Felicity was done with her goodbyes, he led her over to the car.

It annoyed her a little bit that he was rushing her through something he knew was so important to her. It also bugged her that he didn’t seem to care about putting his parents, and his past, to rest. She chalked it up to him dealing with his emotions in his own unique way.

“What has you so excited?”

“It’s finally over. No more Project Nike, no more League of Assassins. We’re finally free to do whatever we want.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I’ve always wanted to see Australia.” He told her.

"What are we waiting for then?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, we have two options from here:  
> 1) Re-write with Olicity (meaning this story never happened)  
> 2) Sequel to this story where Olicity happens.
> 
> Which one are you guys liking better?


End file.
